Welcome to the first episode of Vincerà! The story of Italia ‘90 podcast. It’s June 8th, 1990 and the 14th FIFA World Cup finals tournament begins in Milan’s magnificent Giuseppe Meazza stadium against a backdrop of cultural and political change around the world. It was a time of great optimism, not least in Italy where hosting the competition rubberstamped its credentials as the sophisticated epicentre of world football. Today’s guests discuss the build-up and delivery of Italia ’90 and what we could expect from the 24 teams and star players such as Maradona, Matthäus and a cheeky chap called Gascoigne. They then go on to tackle the opening match which should surely have been a gentle opener for the reigning world champions, Argentina. However, nothing about their opponents Cameroon – or Italia ‘90 – could ever be described as predictable or straightforward…HOST: Mark GodfreyGUESTS: Pete Davies (All Played Out/One Night in Turin), Simon Hart (World in Motion – The Inside Story of Italia 90), Adam Hurrey (The Athletic, Football Cliches)MUSIC: UV Protection